Recipe of the Week: Vegan recipe that passes the taste test

4:11 PM,
Jan. 16, 2013
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Written by

Staff writer

When I first saw this recipe for Italian baked eggplant with seitan, I was both intrigued and skeptical. Intrigued by a cheese-free eggplant casserole that actually had enough protein to pass off as a main entree, and skeptical that it would taste good. The word “seitan” was part of the title, after all.

My skepticism blossomed as I took the strange-looking seitan out of its vacuum-sealed bag, and peaked as I was frying bread-crumb-coated eggplant, and realized I had not sliced the eggplant thin enough (pay attention to that quarter-inch directive). I even brought the finished casserole to the table with apologies, ready to call for pizza if it really tasted horrible.

It didn’t. In fact, the next day when I approached the leftover casserole for lunch, I got kind of excited about making it again. The seitan was chicken-chewy the eggplant was tender and delicious. The tomato sauce was light, and the spinach was not overcooked.

I never expected to be reacquainted to seitan via Martha Stewart, as the lifestyle diva seems more free-range chicken and heirloom goose than wheat gluten meat substitute. But it was Meatless, a new cookbook from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living, where I found this recipe. Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, went meatless as a child and remains an outspoken vegan as an adult.

Made by removing the starch from wheat flour, seitan has a similar texture to meat, and like tofu, takes on the flavors it is cooked with.

This recipe also put nutritional yeast and ground flaxseed meal back on my shelf, two ingredients I experimented with back in my college food coop days, along with seitan.

Nutritional yeast (also called yeast flakes) is a yellow deactivated yeast that has a cheesy, nutty taste. I used to sprinkle it on popcorn or toast. Vegans have to be especially careful to get enough vitamin B12, and nutritional yeast is loaded with it.

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Flaxseed meal contains Omega-3 fatty acids, good for heart health. Flaxseed also has a lot of B vitamins and fiber. So much fiber that you really want to start off with small amounts (which this recipe does). Mixed with soymilk, flaxseed meal acts like egg, helping to bind the bread crumbs to the eggplant.

Italian Baked Eggplant with Seitan

From Meatless from the kitchens of Martha Steward Living (Clarkson Potter, $25), with minor adjustments made in my kitchen. Look for nutritional yeast (sometimes labeled yeast flakes), seitan (refrigerated) and flaxseed meal at health food stores or in the health food sections of most grocery stores.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until translucent, stirring, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes, bring mixture to boil then reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook 10 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in oregano (or other fresh herb). Put sauce in another bowl and set aside. Wipe pan clean.

Mix bread crumbs and nutritional yeast in a shallow bowl. Coat all surfaces of seitan with the crumbs. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat. Cook seitan in a single layer until brown, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and wipe pan clean.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile stir together soy milk and ground flaxseed meal in a shallow bowl. Dip eggplant slices in meal mixture, drain and then coast with bread crumb mixture, pressing to coat both sides. Shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in pan and cook as much eggplant as will fit in the pan in a single layer until golden brown, six minutes per side. You may need to add more oil. Wipe pan clean and repeat with remaining eggplant, adding more oil as needed.

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Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant slices over the sauce, slightly overlapping the slices if needed. Then evenly layer the seitan slices, spinach and remaining sauce. Top with remaining eggplant (I like to quarter the slices for the top layer since I usually don’t have enough to cover the entire surface). Cover the top of the casserole with tightly with foil and bake until bubbling, about 50 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden brown on top, about 10 more minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.